 "Padded up for the tricky tablet wicket")
Voice calling tablets seem to be the new rage in the growing smartphone/tablet market in India. Almost all major manufacturers, including Samsung, Micromax, Lava, Lenovo etc are trying to grab a slice of the market by churning out these voice-calling enabled tablet segments.
The latest addition to the segment is the refreshed version of the Asus Fonepad. This one is known as the Fonepad 7 comes with an Intel processor. Let's find out whether it lives up to its promising specifications.
Design/ Build
The gadget weighs about 328 grams, which can be termed light in comparision to other tablets available.
The power/ lock screen and volume rocker buttons are located on the right side (in portrait mode), largely inspired by smartphones.
A small outlet for microSD card is located beneath the volume rocker buttons.
The Asus Fonepad 7 being a voice-calling tablet comes with SIM support; the SIM card slot is located at the left panel and once again features a smartphone-like design - you need a pin to insert or take out the SIM from the slot.
The Fonepad 7 does not feature a removable back cover.
Display
The Asus Fonepad 7, as the name suggests features a 7-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1280x800 pixels, which translates to a pixel density of 216ppi (pixel per inch). We did expect a higher resolution display on the upgraded tablet; however, the 1280x800 resolution is not a deal breaker.
Sunlight legibility was average. Asus has used an IPS panel for the Fonepad's display that facilitates wider viewing angles, which essentially means that more than one person can view content playing on the screen properly, even from different angles..
However, the touch sensitivity of the tablet was not as good as we expected it to be.
Camera
The Asus Fonepad 7 sports a 5-megapixel rear autofocus camera (without a flash) , which can click images up to 2592x1944 pixels resolution.
Outdoor shots clicked with the Fonepad 7 delivered with accurate colour balance and packs enough details. On the other hand, indoor shots do have much noise at the edges. The primary camera can click up to 100 images in one go, which is similar to burst shots.
Interestingly, the camera performance of Asus Fonepad 7 tablet was impressive when compared to competitors like Samsung and Micromax in the same price range. In addition, the Fonepad 7's rear camera shots were comparable to some mid-range smartphones like HTC Desire 500 and Sony Xperia C.
The Fonepad 7 also packs a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera, which was quite usable, especially when using it for some casual self-portrait shots.
Software and Performance
The Asus Fonepad 7 tablet runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and has a 2.0Ghz processor.
Like the original Fonepad, the new offering also comes preloaded with some apps like Amazon Kindle app for e-books, App Backup to take backups of apps and their data, Audio Wizard to set sound playback modes, BuddyBuzz to browse social networks like Twitter and Facebook, a File Manager app.
Another highlight of the device is the Intel processor it uses. The Fonepad 7 tablet is powered by a dual-core 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z2560 processor.
Moreover, it has 1GB of RAM and 16GB of inbuilt storage, which can be expanded up to 32GB with a microSD card.
The Asus Fonepad 7 could easily handle games like Temple Run 2 and Subway Surfers, apart from some graphics-rich games like Vector, Plants Vs Zombies2 and Dead Trigger.
However, we must let you know that the tablet does not come with a earphones, which is quite surprising, consdering the device supports voice calling.
The call quality on the Fonepad 7 is good, if not great.
Battery Life
The Asus Fonepad 7 tablet packs a 3950mAh battery easily got through a day's usage, which I should say is worth appreciating for a tablet.
Verdict
The Asus Fonepad 7 lived up to our expectations on most of the fronts, apart from the average voice calling facility. But then, being a tablet one may give a thumbs up to that too. The build-quality, especially the glossy back panel failed to impress.
As a final verdict, I can say that at Rs. 17,499, the Asus Fonepad 7 tablet scores better than most of its competitors in the price bracket. So, if you are looking to invest in a tablet enabled with the voice calling feature, this can be a good option.
Price: Rs. 17,499
Pros
Good display
Battery life
Camera
Cons
Glossy plastic build
Slippery rear panel
No bundled handsfree / earphones
The latest addition to the segment is the refreshed version of the Asus Fonepad. This one is known as the Fonepad 7 comes with an Intel processor. Let's find out whether it lives up to its promising specifications.
Design/ Build
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The Asus Fonepad 7 tablet comes with the same design as that of the original Fonepad, but this one let's you down with an all-plastic body as it makes the device look poor and lends major hindrance to the grip. The 7 inch display of the device, surrounded by a black bezel, is positioned between the front-facing dual speakers. The Fonepad 7 is devoid of physical buttons on the front panel, which renders a good look to it.
The gadget weighs about 328 grams, which can be termed light in comparision to other tablets available.
The power/ lock screen and volume rocker buttons are located on the right side (in portrait mode), largely inspired by smartphones.
A small outlet for microSD card is located beneath the volume rocker buttons.
The Asus Fonepad 7 being a voice-calling tablet comes with SIM support; the SIM card slot is located at the left panel and once again features a smartphone-like design - you need a pin to insert or take out the SIM from the slot.
The Fonepad 7 does not feature a removable back cover.
Display
The Asus Fonepad 7, as the name suggests features a 7-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1280x800 pixels, which translates to a pixel density of 216ppi (pixel per inch). We did expect a higher resolution display on the upgraded tablet; however, the 1280x800 resolution is not a deal breaker.
Sunlight legibility was average. Asus has used an IPS panel for the Fonepad's display that facilitates wider viewing angles, which essentially means that more than one person can view content playing on the screen properly, even from different angles..
However, the touch sensitivity of the tablet was not as good as we expected it to be.
Camera
The Asus Fonepad 7 sports a 5-megapixel rear autofocus camera (without a flash) , which can click images up to 2592x1944 pixels resolution.
Outdoor shots clicked with the Fonepad 7 delivered with accurate colour balance and packs enough details. On the other hand, indoor shots do have much noise at the edges. The primary camera can click up to 100 images in one go, which is similar to burst shots.
Interestingly, the camera performance of Asus Fonepad 7 tablet was impressive when compared to competitors like Samsung and Micromax in the same price range. In addition, the Fonepad 7's rear camera shots were comparable to some mid-range smartphones like HTC Desire 500 and Sony Xperia C.
The Fonepad 7 also packs a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera, which was quite usable, especially when using it for some casual self-portrait shots.
Software and Performance
The Asus Fonepad 7 tablet runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and has a 2.0Ghz processor.
Like the original Fonepad, the new offering also comes preloaded with some apps like Amazon Kindle app for e-books, App Backup to take backups of apps and their data, Audio Wizard to set sound playback modes, BuddyBuzz to browse social networks like Twitter and Facebook, a File Manager app.
Another highlight of the device is the Intel processor it uses. The Fonepad 7 tablet is powered by a dual-core 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z2560 processor.
Moreover, it has 1GB of RAM and 16GB of inbuilt storage, which can be expanded up to 32GB with a microSD card.
The Asus Fonepad 7 could easily handle games like Temple Run 2 and Subway Surfers, apart from some graphics-rich games like Vector, Plants Vs Zombies2 and Dead Trigger.
However, we must let you know that the tablet does not come with a earphones, which is quite surprising, consdering the device supports voice calling.
The call quality on the Fonepad 7 is good, if not great.
Battery Life
The Asus Fonepad 7 tablet packs a 3950mAh battery easily got through a day's usage, which I should say is worth appreciating for a tablet.
Verdict
The Asus Fonepad 7 lived up to our expectations on most of the fronts, apart from the average voice calling facility. But then, being a tablet one may give a thumbs up to that too. The build-quality, especially the glossy back panel failed to impress.
As a final verdict, I can say that at Rs. 17,499, the Asus Fonepad 7 tablet scores better than most of its competitors in the price bracket. So, if you are looking to invest in a tablet enabled with the voice calling feature, this can be a good option.
Price: Rs. 17,499
Pros
Good display
Battery life
Camera
Cons
Glossy plastic build
Slippery rear panel
No bundled handsfree / earphones